[tz] tzdata source compatibility

[Mark Davis ☕️]

A 1 year expiration date is crazy. Look at the discussion of SAVE; it is
impossible to update all devices that consume the data in that timeframe.
Most have a mechanism for taking new data, but not new code.

Mark

On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 3:40 PM, Christos Zoulas <christos at zoulas.com> wrote:

>
> Hi,
>
> Here's my 5 cents to the tzdb compatibility discussion:
>
> - Things need to move forward; half-measures like "functional comments"
>   end up hurting in the long term and create unpredictable behavior.
> - There are other users of the tzdata "source" so compatibility needs to
>   be maintained for "some time".
> - On the other hand, we can't be held hostage forever; people who write
>   parsers, should be able to maintain the code.
>
> Straw man proposal:
>
> 1. Create a version ChangeLog with tzdb; it should be simple:
>         - a version number (for reference)
>         - the release date (to guide expiration)
>         - an explanation to what changed in the format (for parser writers)
>
> 2. Maintain two copies of the source; the current one, and the previous
>    version in a "compat" subdirectory. Expire "compat" a year after the
>    release of the next version.
>
> I hope this is helpful,
>
> christos
>
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